May 2020

1. National Latin Exam

We have received the results of the 2020 National Latin Exam:

81 Summa Cum Laude Gold Medals
44 Maxima Cum Laude Silver Medals
13 Magna Cum Laude 
12 Cum Laude

Generally speaking, the top 10 to 15% of students nationwide earn Summa Cum Laude, the next 10 to 15% receive Maxima, and so forth. Everyone who scores above the national average qualifies for one of the four awards.

Special recognition goes to the 17 students who earned perfect scores this year:

Latin One: Dannie Dong, Tyler Dang, Wesley Caldwell, David Simpson, Charlie Treadwell, Gabe Chen, Eshaan Patnaik, Evan Wu, Alan Zhou

Latin Two: Varun Krishnamurthi, Kevin Ma, Frederick Huang

Latin Three: Forest Rudd, Simeon Betapudi, Mark Hieatt

Latin Four Poetry: Fawwaz Omer, Max Shackelford

2. Congratulations to Arjun Puri, Akbar Latif, and Matthew Phillips for receiving recognition for their work in the Bernice Fox Classics Writing Contest, an annual competition sponsored by Monmouth College (IL). Each year, this contest selects just one overall cash prize winner but also recognizes a small number of runners-up with the “Honorable Mention” designation. The theme of this year's contest: "Hindsight in 2020."

April 2020

1. Our biennial trip to Italy has been postponed, now tentatively rescheduled for October of 2020.

2. We had a small group of students preparing to attend the University of Memphis Language Fair on April 4. This event has been cancelled.

3. We had a much larger group - 53 Upper School and Lower School students - registered for the Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention at the end of April. Unfortunately, this event has also been cancelled. 

4. In the coming weeks, we hope to receive the results from some other contests, including the CAMWS Latin Translation Contest and the National Latin Exam.

Stay healthy, everyone. And remember these inspirational words from Book One of Vergil's Aeneid:

'O socii—neque enim ignari sumus ante malorum—

O passi graviora, dabit deus his quoque finem.

Vos et Scyllaeam rabiem penitusque sonantis              

accestis scopulos, vos et Cyclopea saxa

experti: revocate animos, maestumque timorem

mittite: forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.

Per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum

tendimus in Latium; sedes ubi fata quietas               

ostendunt; illic fas regna resurgere Troiae.

Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis.'

‘O friends (well, we were not unknown to trouble before)

O you who’ve endured worse, the god will grant an end to this too.

You’ve faced rabid Scylla, and her deep-sounding cliffs:

and you’ve experienced the Cyclopes’s rocks:

remember your courage and chase away gloomy fears:

perhaps one day you’ll even delight in remembering this.

Through all these misfortunes, these dangerous times,

we head for Latium, where the fates hold peaceful lives

for us: there Troy’s kingdom can rise again. Endure,

and preserve yourselves for happier days.’

March 2020

1. The National Latin Exam has been moved to Tuesday, March 3. It is scheduled from 2:15 to 3:15 PM in Hyde Chapel. In addition to the review and preparation being done in class, students are encouraged to take advantage of the resources posted on the NLE website, including the NLE Online Practice App.

2. Seniors who took AP Latin last year are encouraged to apply for the Seal of Biliteracy, a new award offered by the MUS Department of Classical and Modern Languages. Applications are due March 20. More information is posted here.

3. We have a total of 53 Upper School and Lower School students registered for the Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention in April. Information about convention exams and contests is posted here.

February 2020

1. For students who want to attend the Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention in April, the sign-up deadline is Friday, February 14. "Sign-up" involves completing both permission slips and a pre-convention writing assignment. An information packet is posted on the Bulletin Board of onCampus.

2. The next two NJCL online exams are coming up soon - February 12 (Vocabulary) and February 26 (Roman Civilization). Contact Mr. Gagliano for more information.

3. All students should be preparing for the National Latin Exam. A useful practice app may be found here.

January 2020

1. As the new year begins, we will begin to turn our attention to our two major competitions of the spring semester:

National Latin Exam (Wednesday, March 4)
Tennessee Junior Classical League State Convention (Friday and Saturday, April 24-25)

2. Upper-Level Certamen

Certamen practice for students in Latin Three, Four, and Five will take place on Tuesday afternoons, from 3:30 to 4:00 PM in room S2. We will begin on Tuesday, January 21 and go through Tuesday, April 21. (Latin One students who are interested in playing Certamen should speak to Mr. Suddarth or Mr. Gagliano.)

3. National Language Week

The Department of Classical and Modern Languages at MUS will be celebrating National Language Week during the week of January 13. The main activity will be the MUS International Film Festival, which will take place in Hyde Chapel from 2:30 to 3:30 PM on Wednesday, January 15.

December 2019

1. Latin Fall Festivus

A dedicated delegation of 57 Upper and Lower School students resisted the siren song of the College GameDay broadcast on November 2 and performed very well at the 12th Annual Latin Fall Festivus. Full results are posted here.

2. Saturnalia (a celebration of the traditional ancient Roman winter holiday) will be held in the Wunderlich Auditorium during OP on Tuesday, December 3. Refreshments will be served, and the club officers will go over information pertaining to our annual service project. All Upper School and Lower School Latin Club members are encouraged to attend.

3. A total of 35 Upper School students recently participated in the 2019-2020 Classical Association of the Middle West and South Latin Translation Contest. Last year, we did not receive the results of this competition until the end of April, so it will be quite a while until we hear anything.

4. Semester exams for the Department of Classical and Modern Languages will be administered on Wednesday, December 18.

November 2019

1. The Latin Fall Festivus will take place on Saturday, November 2 from 7:45 AM to 11:55 AM at Houston High School. Contest information is posted on onCampus (on the course bulletin board page), and students should have received an additional information packet in class.

2. MUS AP Latin students recently participated in the ALIRA (ACTFL Latin Interpretive Reading Assessment), a language proficiency exam administered by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. The exam ranks students according to a 10-point proficiency scale. Out of the 16 students in the class, 13 of them earned one of the top two recognitions:

Advanced Rating (highest score possible): Jacob Rickels, Cooper Grinspun, Will Schuessler

Intermediate 5 Rating (next-highest score possible): Samy Paul, Fawwaz Omer, Doug Curtis, Max Shackelford, Walker Burks, Ryan Peng, Cullen Lonergan, Hart Gowen, Edwin Shy, Jack Jabbour

Congratulations to all of these students!

3. The annual Latin Veterani Dinner recently took place, an event that celebrates the progress of "veteran" Latin students in the Memphis area. A group of MUS students from Advanced Readings in Latin and Advanced Placement Latin joined students from St. Mary's, White Station, and Germantown for an evening of fellowship at Pete and Sam's Italian Restaurant. Professor Geoff Bakewell of Rhodes College was the featured speaker.

In the "Elvis Room" at Pete and Sam's.

October 2019

1. The Latin Club membership period has ended. We have a total of 119 students signed up this year - an excellent number. T-shirts, magnets, and hoodies should be available in a couple of weeks.

2. The Memphis-Area Latin Veterani Dinner will take place on Monday, October 28. This is open to Latin Four and Latin Five students only. Students who would like to attend need to pay ($15.00, cash or check made out to MUS) by Tuesday, October 1.

3. The Latin Fall Festivus will take place at Houston High School on Saturday, November 2. A preliminary information packet has been posted to the onCampus Bulletin Board. This event is open to all current Latin Club members (Upper School and Lower School). There is a registration fee, but we will take the money from club dues, so there is no need to bring in any additional payment. Students who want to attend, however, do need to sign up. Sign-ups will take place in class before Fall Break.

General information about the tradition of the Latin Fall Festivus is posted here.

September 2019

Welcome back to another year of Latin at MUS! All students should have received a handout with information about special events and competitions for the 2019-2020 school year. The deadline for returning the Latin Club sign-up sheet with a parent signature is Friday, September 20, 2019. 

XII

Another banner year for the Latin program at 6191 Park Avenue . . . literally and figuratively. Thanks for a great year!

Trigon

The 7th Annual Lower School Trigon Championship was recently held in Thomas Amphitheater. (Trigon was a ball game played by the ancient Romans.) More information about this year's championship is posted here.

Mr. Ted Fockler, in action during the faculty undercard.

2019 TJCL Convention

A total of 32 schools from around the state gathered in Chattanooga this weekend for the 63rd annual convention of the Tennessee Junior Classical League. I am pleased to report that MUS finished in 1st place overall for the 12th consecutive year. 

A dedicated group of 41 Upper School and Lower School students made up the MUS delegation, and all of them contributed in some way to the 1421 points that we scored as a team. 

Some highlights:

• Top scorers for MUS were Kerry Zhao, Mark Hieatt, Will Schuessler, and Forest Rudd, all of whom scored enough points to finish in the individual top ten.
• The Latin Two Certamen team won 1st place.
• Akbar Latif was elected as 1st Vice-President of TJCL for the 2019-2020 school year, the first time in almost a decade that MUS will have a student officer in this organization.

The Championship Trophy

The Spirit Contest

A final Certamen practice in the hotel lobby. The NFL draft provided only a modest distraction.

2019 CAMWS Latin Translation Contest

We have received the results of the 2019 Classical Association of the Middle West and South Latin Translation Contest, a competition that took place back in November.

A total of 26 MUS students received recognition in this year's contest. MUS had more winners than all of the other schools in Tennessee combined.

Approximately 1000 high school students from around the CAMWS region participated in this year's competition. Generally speaking, the cash award winners score in the top 2 to 3 percent, the book award winners represent the top 5 to 6 percent, and the students who earn certificates of commendation score in the top 20 percent.

Latin Two:

Cash Award: Mark Hieatt

Book Award: Kerry Zhao, Forest Rudd, Turner Bishop

Certificates of Commendation: Collin Craft, Matthew Mellone, Jack Zaptin

Latin Three:

Cash Awards: Hart Gowen, Ryan Peng 

Book Award: Max Shackelford

Certificates of Commendation: Cooper Grinspun, Will Schuessler, J.P. Wood, Fawwaz Omer, Walker Burks, Cullen Lonergan, Watts Miller, Samy Paul, Holden Pate

Latin Four:

Cash Award: Rob McFadden

Book Awards: Arjun Puri, Reid Chandler, Kyle Koester

Certificates of Commendation: Will Portera, Gregory Guo, Jonathan Huang

Convention Update

All students going to convention should have received a packet of final announcements and reminders. We have a mandatory meeting scheduled for these students on Tuesday, April 23 in the Wunderlich Auditorium during OP.

These students are also encouraged to sign up for TJCL updates via text. Details - and other information - are posted here.

National Latin Exam Results

We have received the results of the 2019 National Latin Exam:

75  Summa Cum Laude Gold Medals
33  Maxima Cum Laude Silver Medals
24  Magna Cum Laude
11  Cum Laude

Generally speaking, the top 10 to 15% of students nationwide earn Summa Cum Laude, the next 10 to 15% receive Maxima, and so forth. Everyone who scores above the national average qualifies for one of the four awards.

Special recognition goes to the students who earned perfect scores this year:

Latin One: Kevin Ma, Varun Krishnamurthi, Jaxon Hammond
Latin Two: Forest Rudd, Simeon Betapudi, Collin Craft
Latin Three: J.P. Wood, Fawwaz Omer, Max Shackelford

Congratulations to all of the students who received recognition in this year's contest!